I can't remember if Charlie was ever in Theo's story previously, so he is now! I felt like bringing him back, it's been so long!

Theo sat in a room with his brothers, sisters and cousins, their partners and children, which meant there was a total of nineteen people-himself included- in this one room. Percy, Annabeth, Louisa and Leo had all run away for the weekend, the Jackson couple heading off to the beach cabin on Montauk Beach and the Valdezs hiding in Bunker 9, the perfect place for two severely ADHD demigods. Tobias, Sophia, Max and Ava had claimed the sofa; Alvie, Crystal, Sage, Tyler and Lilly had taken one end of the table with Callum, Darcy, Finn, Samantha and Christian at the other. Elsie, Alokia and Charlie were scattered about the room; Elsie was dozing in the armchair, Alokia was sat on the window seat with an IM to Francis before her and Charlie was sat under the table eating Percy's blue cookies. Alexa was asleep in her mother's arms. Theo stood in the kitchen doorway, still reeling from this sudden onslaught of family. There was a lot of power in this one room, legacies, demi-primordials, demon children and, of course, Alvie. That little shister was effectively beating his sisters in game after game of chess, something Sage found highly infuriating. She was determined to be the chess master of the family, especially now he had taken the title from their mother.

Despite all this family-time, lots of love and madness, Theo couldn't quite figure out why they were all here. It was a massive risk to have them all in one place, what with monsters roaming around. And yet, here they were. Charlie had run out of cookies and found himself trapped by all those seated. Theo said nothing when he tied Tyler's shoelaces together and nudged Alvie until he was let out. He joined Theo, elfish grin in place.

"You're despicable."

"Thank you." The impish boy gave a little bow, flourishing his hand. "Why are you over here though? Are you alright?" Theo nodded. "Well, come and join in then, be one with the family and... revel in the crazy."

"I think you revel for all of us."

"Hey. One of us has to be an expert on it."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but... ah, Tobias already beat you to it. Sorry dude." Charlie pouted. Theo watched the cogs tick beneath those curls.

"You love being the bearer of bad news, what are you on?" Theo gave a sweet smile. Charlie eyed him dubiously, eventually realising he was gleaning nothing from his cousin and shrugged. "OK, if you were stranded on a desert island with one person in this room, who and why?"

"Alvie."

"Aside from him. I'm an excellent craftsman, hint hint."

"I'd pick Sage."

"What? What about me?"

"You'd go on a sugar crash in five seconds and won't be useful. Tobias, yeah, he's reliable, but he's just as mad as you are. Max will get angry and try to eat me; Lilly will panic if a spider appears; knowing my luck, I'll get stuck with Callum on a full moon. Elsie will get angry and definitely eat me for survival, she is ruthless." Charlie nodded in agreement. "Kia won't took her nose out of a book long enough to get stranded on a desert island. No kids, they'll slow me down. Again with the luck, if I was stranded with one of the women, it'd be that certain time." Charlie grimaced. "Exactly."

"But you still picked Sage?"

"She's violent whatever time of the month it is. Who would you pick?"

"Alvie. He can just zap us home. But aside from him... maybe Sophia. She is a demi-primordial. And I've heard she does this really cool angel wing thing, so we could fly home. Or fall with style, whichever one it is." He shrugged carelessly, pulling scrap from his pockets. Theo watched him work, saw him bouncing on the spot, very much on a sugar high from the cookie overdose. "If you could be any animal, what would you be?" Theo raised a brow. "Well, you can already do that, but if had to pick one animal?"

"Dragon."

"Dude. Great minds." Charlie went for a high five. Theo rolled his eyes and grudgingly obliged. There was no denying a very ADHD and very sugar-rush hyper Charlie anything. "Why are we all here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Charlie let free his automaton butterfly, eyes following its travel over everyone's heads, smiling when it landed amongst Lilly's blonde curls. Theo turned back into the kitchen, deciding he needed a coffee before attempting to confront the small army in his living room. Charlie followed him, drumming his fingers on the counter restlessly. Theo mixed the granules in, head low over the richly scented steam. It helped clear his head somewhat, but he'd much rather a decent cigarette. Another smell caught his attention. He glanced to his right to see Charlie popping popcorn in his hand.

"Sorry, I'm hungry."

"You just ate a dozen large homemade cookies, how has your heart not overloaded?"

"I am like eighty-seven percent sugar, it's part of who I am. You learn to adapt. Like you and coffee. Plus, my heart is usually going a million miles an hour, it's cool." Theo shook his head, stirring in some sugar. "How are you handling the whole Eris jazz?" Theo just looked at him over the rim of his mug. Charlie pressed his lips together. "You need to get yourself a hobby, cuz."

"I'm open for suggestions, oh wise master." Theo muttered.

"It'd have to be something really cool though, like... surfing."

"I do plently of surfing."

"Wave surfing, not interent surfing." Theo shrugged indifferently. "How about... uh... pies? No, no, you're right. Oh! You could be a comic book artist or... or a deep sea diver or an astronaut, maybe you could tame lions. No! Bring back dinosaurs and tame them! Oooh, I want a velociraptor! Or maybe a ptyerodactl..." Theo let his cousin ramble, letting his words wash right over his head. It was only when Charlie shot a stream of flames past his face did he pay attention. "Hey, I'm trying to help you. The least you could do is pay attention."

"I do apologise."

"You don't sound very apologetic."

"How do I sound then?"

"Very disinterested." Theo raised his mug and Charlie frowned at him. "Are you alright?"

"Spiffing." Charlie stopped bouncing, those eyes just like his mother's but warm like his father's. Theo stared back, keeping his expression neutral.

"I'll get Tobias."

"No." Theo grabbed him by the arm. Charlie startled at the sudden grip, trying to pry his arm free. Theo let him go. "Sorry." He said quietly. "Tobias will only worry." Charlie rubbed his arm unconsciously, Theo silently cursed himself. "Look, I'm fine. I'm just trying to get my head around a few things. I could really do without older brothers at the minute."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Let me drink my coffee in peace. No offense, Charlie, but I could really do with some alone time."

"Then... just holler."

"Thanks." Charlie nodded, casting a worried search over him one last time before leaving. He closed the door after him. Theo pulled a fork from the draw and stabbed the back of his hand, cursing through gritted teeth as he hopped about, shaking his hand. Something was wrong with his powers, he felt unsettled, more and more so the more he used them. He probably shouldn't have, but the headaches stopped in certain forms. His hand was a vicious red, the pinpricks of the fork bruising. He stuck his hand under the running tap, glaring out the window. He shouldn't have grabbed Charlie. Something- maybe his powers- was interfering. There was no sign of Eris, that wasn't it. The only thing he could think of was animalistic instincts ploughing through, breaking the boundaries between human and beast. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense, but he couldn't be sure.

Theo wrapped his hand in a tee towel, returning to his coffee. It was still mildly warm. "Idiot." He muttered to himself, draining the last of his drink. He was fixing himself another, the caffiene flooding his system like a forest fire, when Alvie came in. Theo sighed. "I don't want any words of wisdom or cryptic advice. I just want a coffee."

"So do I." Alvie got a mug from the cupboard, taking the coffee jar from his little brother. "Charlie seems upset though. What happened?"

"As if you don't know."

"His arm's hurting him."

"I didn't mean to."

"Mean to what?"

"That's really annoying. You asking questions that you already know the answers to you. There's literally nothing you don't know, nothing you can't find out. Why does everything have to be an interrogation with you?"

"Because you don't need me telling you the answers. Sometimes you need to figure it out for yourself."

"Oh, gee, I wonder what could have happened this time. Ah. I know! Hey, I'm Theo. I make a mess of everything." He offered his hand. Alvie ignored it, frowning at him.

"That's not true."

"Do tell." Theo retorted sharply, dumping a spoonful of sugar into the mug.

"I don't need to. You know that isn't true. Lilly's alive because of you."

"She was in danger in the first place because of me!" Alvie thought for a second, twisting his hand in the air. A glass appeared on the counter between them, partially containing water. Theo looked at it, sneering slightly. "Is this some magic water that'll fix me?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"How do you see it?"

"Uh, it's a glass. With water in."

"How much?"

"Oh, I get it. Glass half-empty, half-full. Whatever. What's it matter?"

"It shows your outlook on life."

"My outlook is just grand."

"Sounds like it." Alvie finished his coffee, taking an experimental sip. "You've plently of life, Theo. Don't squander it." Theo just hummed darkly. "I probably shouldn't say this, but... embrace your demons. Don't push down your powers, accept them. Incoporate them into your life. Max and Callum have put their strengths into what they love, they use it to help others. You could do the same."

"How?"

"You've every animal imaginable at your fingertips. How you use them is up to you." Alvie squeezed his shoulder and left. Theo looked down at his coffee.

"It's alright for you to say that, Alvie. You know every possible outcome. You won't screw up."

"Teddy!" Lilly burst in. "I can no longer sit with Callum on my own, please come and save me!" Theo straightened and put on a smile. She saw right through that. "Oh please, Teddy, I'm your sister. I know when something's wrong. You can't hide it from me. Well, not anymore. I know that look extremely well. Why are you hiding in here? We're all out there for you."

"Is that why everyone came over? To try and make me feel better?"

"To try and make you feel included again. Stop shutting the door, Teddy, stop shutting yourself out, away from everyone else. We're here to remind you that you're not alone, not anymore. I know it may be all overwhelming for you, but even if you just sit and listen in. You don't have to say anything if you don't want. Just so you're not sitting on your own."

"Technically I'm standing."

"You know what I mean." She held her hand out. Theo picked his coffee up.

"You owe me lunch." He said, taking her hand. Lilly shrugged and led him out.

"Hello, stranger!" Tobias grinned, jumping up. "Whoa. You've gotten taller. Callum, come here." Callum sidled over. "Hey! You are, you are taller than Callum!"

"I was always the alpha triplet. This just proves my point."

"Hey." Sage cut in. "At the end of the day, you two are thoroughly wrapped around Lilly's little finger. That makes her the alpha triplet."

"Fight me." The boys challenged together. Sage drew a knife, grinning wickedly.

"Bring it."